The latest news from around the UK and the globe

Taxpayers have lost £1 billion over the privatisation of Royal Mail because the Government underestimated demand for shares, a committee of MPs has reported.

Ministers were accused of being afraid to fail over the controversial sell-off last year, and of receiving "poor quality" advice.

The Business Select Committee said taxpayers were missing out on "significant value."

More diabetics may get surgery

Hundreds of thousands of people with type 2 diabetes could be offered weight-loss surgery on the NHS.

New draft guidance from the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (Nice) suggests that obese people with the condition should be assessed for bariatric surgery - such as having a gastric band fitted to reduce the size of the stomach or a gastric bypass, where the digestive system is re-routed past most of the stomach.

At present weight loss surgery is given to patients on the NHS to those who are morbidly obese with a body mass index (BMI) score of over 40 or to those who have a BMI over 35 and who have another serious health condition - such as type 2 diabetes.

Church severs ties with Wonga

The Church of England has severed its ties with payday lender Wonga, it has been announced.

The Church Commissioners for England, which produces money to support the Church of England, said it was "pleased to announce" the indirect investment exposure to Wonga in its venture capital portfolio has been removed.

It comes a year after it emerged that the Church of England helped to fund the payday lender, prompting the Archbishop of Canterbury to state he wanted to "compete" the firm out of business.

Whelan a fugitive say Rio police

Police in Rio de Janeiro have declared Ray Whelan, the English director of FIFA's ticket and hospitality partners MATCH, to be "a fugitive" after they attempted to re-arrest him as part of an investigation into ticket touting.

Officers arrived at the Copacabana Palace hotel with an arrest warrant, but Mr Whelan was not there and police said they had CCTV footage of him leaving through a service door.

MATCH has stuck by Mr Whelan and insisted he has played no part in any wrongdoing.

OBR warning on ageing population

A fresh wave of tax hikes or spending cuts will be needed to meet the growing cost of Britain's ageing population, the financial watchdog has warned.

The next generation of workers also face having to stay in employment until they reach 70 to help keep the country's finances on the right track, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).

It found that long-term spending on health, state pensions and social care will put a strain on the public purse.

Rockets from Lebanon strike Israel

Rockets fired from Lebanon have struck Israel as long-range missile fire from Gaza continued against the country for a fourth day.

He said the military responded with artillery fire toward the apparent source in southern Lebanon. There were no reports of injuries.

Boy in court over teacher murder

A 15-year-old boy will appear in court today accused of murdering a teacher who was stabbed to death in her classroom.

Ann Maguire 61, was fatally stabbed at Corpus Christi Catholic College in Halton Moor, Leeds, on April 28.

Mrs Maguire's death was the first time a teacher has been stabbed to death in a British classroom and the first killing of a teacher in a school since the 1996 Dunblane massacre.

Drinking less 'aids healthy heart'

Drinking less can help to improve the health of your heart, experts have said.

A reduction in alcohol consumption could improve the cardiovascular health of even light-to-moderate drinkers, research suggests.

The authors of the study, published in The British Medical Journal, challenged previous research which has suggested that light-to-moderate amounts of alcohol could actually have a protective effect for the heart.

Many unaware of out-of-hours GP

One in four people do not know what an out-of-hours GP service is, figures show

The National Audit Office (NAO) said that "notable" proportions of the population do not know they can contact a GP service out of normal office hours or that they can call NHS 111.

A poll conducted by the NAO found that 26% of people have not heard of out-of-hours GP services, which provide urgent primary care when GP surgeries are typically closed.

Egypt row statue sells for £15m

A statue at the centre of a row between a council and the Egyptian Ambassador to Britain has sold for more than £15 million.

The limestone statue of Sekhemka had been on display at Northampton Museum & Art Gallery but was sold yesterday at an auction by Christie's in London.

In a statement, the council said it sold the statue to raise funds for an extension to the gallery and museum, but Egyptian Ambassador Ahsraf Elkholy condemned the move.

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The Editor

Mark Thomas

Liverpool-born Mark joined the Daily Post in January 2014 after seven years as editor of its Merseyside sister title the Liverpool Post. He started out as a weekly news reporter on Wirral Newspapers, and spent seven years at the Daily Post and Liverpool Echo. He was The Press Association's regional correspondent for North Wales, Merseyside and Cheshire from 1983 to 1997, before returning to the ECHO as deputy news editor. He has won a number of journalism awards, including the UK Press Gazzette Regional Reporter of the Year award, and in 1993 wrote a book on the James Bulger murder.